Texas ready to swing for fences in rematch against Oklahoma

Texas will have to contain Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray if the Longhorns want a repeat of their October win over the Sooners.

Photo: Cooper Neill, FRE / Associated Press

AUSTIN — You won’t be able to spy it. Just believe the invisible baseball bat will be there, holstered to Texas defensive end Charles Omenihu’s hip, waiting to be unsheathed.

That moment won’t come — if it comes at all — until the Big 12 defensive lineman of the year manages to get his industrial-strength paws on Oklahoma quarterback and public enemy No. 1 Kyler Murray during Saturday’s Big 12 championship game at AT&T Stadium.

On Oct. 6, the first time sixth-ranked Oklahoma (11-1, 8-1 Big 12) and 14th-ranked Texas (9-3, 7-2) met this season, Omenihu was able to sack the slippery Murray for a loss of 10 yards. He sprung up and pantomimed a home-run swing, an unsubtle celebratory jab at the ninth overall pick of the 2018 MLB draft.

Omenihu plans to unleash a Ruthian swing if he takes down Murray again.

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No. 5 Oklahoma vs. No. 14 Texas

When/where: 11 a.m., AT&T Stadium, Arlington

TV/Radio: ABC/790 AM, 97.5 FM

Records: Texas (9-3, 7-2 Big 12), Oklahoma (11-1, 9-1)

Texas updates: Texas sophomore quarterback Sam Ehlinger (shoulder) was a full participant in practice throughout the week and will start. With 23 passing and 11 rushing touchdowns on the year, Ehlinger is third on the school’s single-season list of most touchdowns responsible for. … Safety Brandon Jones (neck) and linebacker Gary Johnsons (suspended vs. Kansas) are both active and will start. Johnson leads Texas 74 total tackles (14 tackles for loss) and Jones is tied for with 59 in eight games. … Texas is 6-3 in one-possession games this season, which includes its 48-45 win over Oklahoma on Oct. 6. Seven of its last eight games have been decided by one touchdown or less.

Oklahoma updates: A win Saturday would mark Oklahoma's fourth Big 12 league title. The last time the Sooners won four consecutive conference championships was 1984-87. The last Power Five program to win four straight outright league titles was Florida (1993-96). … Oklahoma has scored at least 45 points in eight straight games (averaging 53.4 during the stretch), which is the longest streak in school history. … Oklahoma leads the country in total offense (583.8 yards per game) scoring offense (50.3 points per game) and yards per play (8.9). … Quarterback Kyler Murrya Murray has registered six games this year of at least 300 passing yards and at least 65 rushing yards, the highest single-season total since at least 1996. Murray leads the nation in passing yards per attempt (12) and per completion (17) and ranks second in passing touchdowns (37) and efficiency rating (206.8)

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“My goal is to get to the quarterback,” Omenihu said this week. “My coaches saw me swing my imaginary bat. I told y’all when I swung it went 450 feet. I’m going to try and hit Jerry’s (Jones) big TV up there.”

Thing is, Murray’s a hard man to get a handle on.

Oklahoma has allowed only 14 sacks all year, tops in the Big 12 and tied for 14th nationally, in part because of an offensive line featuring three All-Big 12 first team selections and in part because Murray is jackrabbit-quick.

Texas sacked Murray twice in its 48-45 win over Oklahoma. Through three and a half quarters, it did a fine job of sealing the edges and containing him in the pocket.

Then he broke out a 67-yard touchdown run with just over five minutes remaining, altering the complexion of a game Texas had led by 21.

“I think we did a good job of collapsing the pocket,” Texas coach Tom Herman said. “I think, you know, we did not want him on read plays, we certainly didn't want him carrying the football out there on the loose.

“A lot of his big scrambles have come when you're covering them but not getting good pressure on him, and he's sitting back there, sitting back there, nobody is open, okay, go.”

Texas was, for the most part, pleased with how it handled Murray in round one. The fact he finished that game with 304 passing yards, 92 rushing yards, and five total touchdowns, illustrates just how indomitable a force he seems to opposing defenses.

Bottling up Murray, staying in front of running backs Kennedy Brooks and Trey Sermon and limiting explosive plays by receiver Marquise Brown and CeeDee Lamb are the keys for a Texas team in pursuit of its first league title since 2009.

As for the Texas offense, it’s not a matter of whether it will hang a big number on the scoreboard. The question against the nation’s No. 1 offense is, will it be enough?

“We do think that we can do some things defensively that others haven't been able to do,” Herman said, “but if it does turn into a track meet, then I think our offense is perfectly capable of winning the game that way.”

Oklahoma fired defensive coordinator Mike Stoops following its loss to Texas. Results under his interim replacement, Ruffin McNeill, haven’t been any better.

The Sooners have surrendered at least 40 points in four straight games, in the process becoming the first team in the Associated Press poll era to win four straight games despite allowing that many points.

Kansas ran for 348 yards in its 55-40 loss to Oklahoma. West Virginia last Saturday gained 704 yards in its 59-56 defeat. Oklahoma State amassed 640 total yards during a 1-point loss in Norman, Okla.

As long as Ehlinger’s sprained right shoulder holds up, Texas should be able to attack Oklahoma’s defense in much the same way it did the first time around.

In that game, receivers Lil’Jordan Humphrey and Collin Johnson combined for 214 yards and two touchdowns. Ehlinger threw for 314 yards and two touchdowns and added 72 yards and three touchdowns rushing.

“We ran the ball really well. We were very psychical, especially up front and on the edges. Our receivers blocked really well. I do think that’s something we’ll look to build upon this time,” senior tight end Andrew Beck said.

Murray and his teammates are going to make plays. They’re going to score. Texas understands that.

The key is to seize on a few decisive moments, not let them slip away.

Murray threw one interception to safety Brandon Jones and lost a fumble in Oklahoma territory in the first meeting, and if Texas is to win it has to capitalize on those rare miscues and try not to dwell on any negatives.

“To me it’s just play the next play,” Texas defensive coordinator Todd Orlando said. “It’s like our motto around here, go 1-0. OK, we screwed that play up, it’s fine. Let it go.

“We’re in the championship game and like we told our guys, what do we have to lose? Nothing. Go out there and play free, play as hard as you can, and see what happens.”